Day 6 Emerald Isle: Song of the Sea

Turning Darkness into Light

We are geeks. I don't think it'll come as a surprise to anyone that the highlight of our day in Dublin is visiting Trinity College to see the Book of Kells.  On the way to Ireland, the girls watched the animated movie "The Secret of Kells", a unique fictional film loosely based on the journey of the Book of Kells, believed to be necessary to preserve the Celtic culture from the invaders (likely the Vikings). The kids loved the movie and bounced their way to Trinity College library to see THE BOOK. They had already seen an Abbey and a stone circle during our trip so far and they related those well to the film. It felt awesome to see their faces lit up when they realize not every cartoon is fictional. In The Secret of Kells, the boy meets a fairy in the stone circle, which supposedly served as entrances to the "other world". Seeing the book was icing on the cake, and what sweet icing it was! I didn't think they would be as excited with this surprise. The book was safeguarded in the Abbey at Kells, which was its home for centuries before it was moved to Dublin.  The Celtic artwork in the book were incredible!  My 7 year old was amazed at the different materials used to make ink, like berries and minerals to create the art text and images in the book.

  

Picture taking of the actual book is not allowed, and it is encased securely for viewing. After all, it has been around since 800 AD, and regarded as Ireland's national treasure. The book itself contains the four gospels in the new testament with ornate calligraphy and vibrant illustration and symbolism. I cannot recommend this exhibit enough if you're in Dublin. But treat yourself to the movie too!

Our other must-see in Dublin is also conveniently located at the Trinity College library - The Long Room. Full disclosure, our main interest here is due to its resemblance to Hogwarts' Great Hall, and we thought it would serve as a delight to our mini-Potterheads.  However, the Long Room, apart from being vast and, well, long, doesn't really evoke Hogwarts' dining hall. Not entirely surprising, I guess. After all, this is a library! It is perhaps one of the most impressive libraries I've seen, in the company of Manchester's John Rylands Library. It is filled with 200,000 books, two stories high, with marble busts of great philosophers, writers, and scientists lining the room. Encased by the back of the room is Ireland's iconic Harp. It is well-known that Ireland's emblem is a harp. The Brian Boru Harp in Trinity College is the "official" emblem of Ireland, a 15th century harp and the oldest Celtic harp surviving from the medieval period. 

The symbol of the harp is much loved in Ireland. You see it as a moving bridge in Dublin, on Irish euro coins and even on Guinness beer. 

Samuel Beckett bridge, an Irish harp-shaped bridge rotating through the air

We continued to explore Dublin on foot, crossing the Ha'penny pedestrian bridge and taking in the somber sculptures commemorating the Irish Famine, the famine due to potato disease. The famine killed ~1 M people and caused emigration of ~1 M more. We walked down to the Medieval area (and was not very impressed); we saw the Dublin castle, which is really too embedded in the city and the view obscured for one to appreciate the structure; we walked on the famous Grafton street then headed to St. Stephen's Green where the kids spent  the time chasing pigeons.  Where is all this energy coming from?? After 30,000 steps, I'm beat!

Clotted cream, where have you been all my life?

Song of the Sea

At about 4 pm, we were contemplating on whether to stay longer in Dublin city, or to take the train to Howth (rhymes with "oath"). The lure of sitting down on a train for short time was very attractive to me.  Howth is a pretty fishing village on the Dublin Bay less than 30 min train ride from Dublin. Indeed, it would have been a shame if we didn't visit! Howth turned out to be my favorite town in this trip, and that's saying a lot after seeing colorful Kinsale, Kenmare, Sneem, Glengarriff, and quaint Bantry. The idyllic town offers so much.  We took a wonderful walk along the pier, then up to another Abbey ruin, which can't be accessed, then towards the Martello tower. They have a number of these towers in Ireland. The stunning view of the bay, the boats, and Ireland's Eye, an uninhabited island off the cost, calmed our weary bods.  And as if we haven't seen enough, Howth also has a grand castle a short walk away from the town center, though it is privately owned.  This is what Ireland is about - castles, rolling hills, ancient rocks, and tranquil waters. 

Howth's unmoving castle

We capped the night with a train ride back to Dalkey, enjoying dinner and stroll in the town center and back to our hotel, facing the reality of having to pack for our trip back home. 

Dalkey castle